Calls for axing of parent welfare program

A government program which forces parents to complete training for welfare payments unfairly targets single mothers and should be scrapped, legal groups say.

The Senate is reviewing ParentsNext, a compulsory program for some parents on welfare which aims to help them get a job but cuts off payments for not completing required activities.

In a joint submission opposing the program the National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Forum, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care and the Human Rights Law Centre say 95 per cent of those captured by the program are women.

In the second half of last year parents had their payments suspended more than 16,000 times, with indigenous parents more at risk than non-indigenous families.

Convener of NFVPLS Forum Antoinette Braybrook says the program is setting up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to fail.

"It will cause the most pain for mothers escaping family violence, dealing with homelessness and in other distressing circumstances," she said.

"Rather than pointing the finger and punishing our women, the federal government should be investing in Aboriginal-led programs that support women to meet their goals."

ParentsNext doesn't give value to parenting as a form of labour, the group says.

The Greens say the program should be suspended while it's being reviewed as children were at greater risk of growing up in poverty if their parents' welfare payments were cancelled.

"The latest figures showing the high number of parents and of course their children that have been suspended from payments is deeply concerning and should send a signal to government that this program has very serious problems," Senator Rachel Siewert said.

"In what world does a government think that it is acceptable that mothers and their children are denied access to essential income and are then forced to rely on food relief?"

The program was trialled in 10 locations from April 2016 before its national rollout in July last year, however it only operates in struggling regions.

The joint submission also questions whether the initiative complies with Australia's sex, race and age discrimination laws.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has recommended payments not be cancelled for non-compliance and for the program to be voluntary for parents.